Thursday, October 30, 2014

Dragon Age Keep Open Beta Impressions

Dragon Age Inquisition is only weeks away, and Bioware has
finally launched the open beta for the Dragon Age Keep. Unlike previous Bioware
releases, Dragon Age Inquisition will not feature a save game import feature. At
least, not in the traditional way. Instead of porting a save file over from
Dragon Age 2 into Dragon Age Inquisition, players will establish their world
state via the Keep, an online app that allows you to upload save games from
previous Dragon Age releases, and tracks those decisions for later use in
Inquisition. For those who may have not played previous entries in the Dragon
Age saga, the Keep allows you to make choices and establish your in-universe continuity
the way you would like to see it. Once you are satisfied with your world state,
whether by uploading or customizing, you will then be able to transfer that
data into Inquisition when it is released on November 19th.

The Keep seeks to solve two problems. The first is carrying
over save files from one console generation to the next. The second is to solve several import bugs
that occurred throughout the series. This pleases me, as nothing was more
frustrating to me as a player than having everyone in Kirkwall tell me that my
Grey Warden sacrificed his life to end the Blight, when in fact, he did not.

Yesterday, the open beta for the Keep went live, allowing
players to get their hands on the app and test it out. In order to get a full
impression of what the Keep’s general capabilities are in terms of customizing
the world state, I decided to try and rebuild it from the ground up, as opposed
to uploading a save file from a previous play through.

Overall, the Keep is
a very fine tool to use in crafting your own save game. It looks pretty, and
has a simple to use interface. Choices can be made quite easily, and the logic
of the system is on point. As I tried to recreate my own world state, it would
frequently stop and make sure I was making accurate decisions, as some of the
choices I was customizing interfered with the default set up. Fortunately, one
click is all it takes to fix the problem, and the choices are readjusted
accordingly.

One aspect I really liked about the Keep is that when your
world state is finalized, you can watch a little “previously on” type video
that explains with greater context everything that transpired along your world
state, narrated by none other than storyteller supreme, Varric Tethras. Having
Varric narrate the video was a nice touch, and made it feel less like an
application, and more like a piece of the lore. It’s almost as if Varric is
sitting around a fire and telling a story.

I did have a few problems with Keep. When customizing your
Grey Warden, it seems odd that you are not allowed to change his/her name. The
only way to go into the Keep with a name of your choosing is to upload your
save game to Origin, then sync your Origin account with Keep. It’s a massive
headache when it should be as simple as “What was the Warden’s name?” Likewise,
you are unable to a give a name to your dog. If I start Inquisition and they
refer to my dog as Barkspawn instead of Wrex, I’ll be pissed the hell off. Mostly
because Barkspawn is a stupid name.

Another oddity in the Keep is that some choices are
extremely specific, covering nearly every possible outcome and nuance. For
example, did you tell Filda that her son, Ruck was dead despite the fact that
he was alive? Did you tell her the truth? Did you kill Ruck and tell her the truth?
Did you kill Ruck and lie? Literally every outcome is covered in that option. Meanwhile,
the Landsmeet does not cover whether or not you got Anora’s support, or if she
betrayed you. It breaks it down to, “Is Alistair king or not?” Okay that is an
exaggeration, as it does ask specifically how Loghain died (in a duel with
Alistair on mine), but it seems like big details are being left out.

If you played Awakening, you may be surprised to see that
there is absolutely no mention of most of your party members or their fates.
While Nathaniel and Ohgren are covered in detail, no one else is. We know that
Anders and Justice show up again as one being in Dragon Age 2, so covering
their fates in the Keep doesn’t matter (well, not until DA2 that is), but what
about Sigrun, Velanna, and even Varel? All of these characters can either live
or die depending on your choices. Not tracking those choices basically means we
will never see or hear from them again. I can understand Varel not being
covered somewhat. The chances of seeing him again are extremely low considering
his voice actor, Robin Sachs, tragically passed away. Velanna and Sigrun on the
other hand were companions. It would nice to meet up with them at some point in
the future. If this is the final version of the Keep, we sadly never will.

Overall, the Keep is a very nice tool for building your
world state in preparation for Dragon Age Inquisition. While I would certainly
like Bioware to tackle my objections, even if they don’t it’s not the end of
the world. It should be interesting to see what awaits players in Inquisition,
and the Keep offers us a tiny glimpse of what that may be.

Pros:

Simple and Easy to use (for the most part)

Typically very specific with choices and options

Varric narration is a nice touch

Cool artwork

Solves continuity disrupting bugs such as the fate of the
Warden in DA2

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About Me

Hey there! I'm Ryan Keyworth. I am a writer, editor, colorist and letterer. I primarily work in the comic book realm, having written and published my creator owned comic book series, Star Crossed Galaxy. I also have written several articles, columns, and reviews all across the web. You can see some of my works hosted at PCM Tech Help Show and Fanboy Buzz. Also, check out my personal blog, The Writer's Blog!